Digital Story Telling with Homeless Students
Posted on 02. Jan, 2010 by Ringmaster in All Posts, Power of Vision, TEL.A.VISION Stories
Lanise Block enjoyed using TEL.A.VISION in her classroom and decided to use it in a “Digital Story Telling” project with the homeless. She was surprised by how well the project was accepted by her students.
Use in a High School Classroom
Posted on 02. Jan, 2010 by Ringmaster in All Posts
We caught up with Lanise Block, a teacher at Henry High School in Minneapolis, at the recent TIES Conference. Here is what she had to say about about using TEL.A.VISION in her classroom.
TEL.A.VISION Launches New Curriculum and New Site License Program To Include At-Risk and Special Education Programs
Posted on 15. Dec, 2009 by Ringmaster in All Posts, TEL.A.VISION News
Students Demonstrate Deeper Engagement with School Because of TEL.A.VISION
MINNEAPOLIS (December 15, 2009) – TEL.A.VISION, the proven Web 2.0 online curriculum that inspires youth to create and share visions of hope and possibility through personal “vision videos” announced today the launch of their new curriculum and new site license program.
Realizing that the greatest benefit of TEL.A.VISION is with our most vulnerable students, TEL.A.VISION has relaunched its curriculum with a focus on Special Ed and At Risk students.
The United States dropout rate is 30% per year. Many of these students are not engaged in thinking about their future, they drop out because they feel no hope. With TEL.A.VISION they feel more optimistic about their future, more hopeful, more engaged and have more reason to stay in school. TEL.A.VISION’s new Site License Program is designed to be purchased for Special Education students. Schools purchase a yearly subscription for each Special Education student and that also includes group accounts for all other classrooms at no additional charge. This New Site License Program was designed to help schools and districts decrease the dropout rate for these vulnerable students while also promoting academic achievement in every classroom. This convenient, low-cost, license purchase covers all student, teacher and administrator use at a school. The site license includes a curriculum guide, lesson plans, and on-line media so each lesson can be taught with a computer and projector or/and an interactive whiteboard.
The extensive curriculum for Special Education and At Risk students was created under the direction of Dr. Christy Chambers, past president of CASE (Council of Administrators of Special Education) and past superintendent of Special Education District of McHenry County, Woodstock, IL. This new curriculum will decrease the number of Special Education and At Risk dropouts by providing that students tools to create a new way of thinking positively about their futures by giving them more hope and more social and emotional support.
“We are seeing increased use of TEL.A.VISION in several of our schools, elementary and secondary and an interest in using it by other schools in our district,” stated Mike Dronen District Technology Coordinator at Stillwater Area Public Schools. “When one firsts look at TEL.A.VISION, it may not seem particularly significant, but once you see students working with it and showing their TEL.A.VISION videos, the possibilities for impacting students are amazing.”
“TEL.A.VISION wants to ensure that all students, including our most vulnerable students, have the opportunity to feel valued and to stay in school. I believe that we have a vision deficit in the world and that everything starts with vision. Our students need to envision graduating from high school,” stated George Johnson of TEL.A.VISION. “TEL.A.VISION is a cost effective way to keep students engaged in school. Our thoughts matter. And students using TEL.A.VISION are focusing their thoughts on their desired future. We have found that hope breeds success and TEL.A.VISION definitely offers hope to our students.”
About TEL.A.VISION
TEL.A.VISION was created by former Special Education teacher turned entrepreneur, George Johnson. TEL.A.VISION is a Web 2.0 online curriculum that inspires youth to create and share visions of hope and possibility through personal “vision videos”. The TEL.A.VISION technology platform was designed for all youth, but the focus is the Special Education and At Risk student.
For more information, or to create and share a vision for a better world, visit www.telavision.tv
TEL.A.VISION Forms Partnership with Minnesota TIES
Posted on 01. Dec, 2009 by Ringmaster in All Posts, Supporters, TEL.A.VISION News
Alliance Will Benefit TEL.A.VISION, TIES and Their Affiliates
MINNEAPOLIS (December 1, 2009) – TEL.A.VISION, the proven Web 2.0 online curriculum that inspires youth to create and share visions of hope and possibility through personal “vision videos” announced today their partnership with TIES, the Minnesota Education Technology Collaborative that brings together technology and education to create comprehensive, cutting-edge solutions for school administrators, educators and students.
TEL.A.VISION will support TIES’s growth and development by offering preferred services and discounts to TIES members. TIES will promote the benefits and savings of TEL.A.VISION’S curriculum that combines compelling words, images and music to create a vision video of their desired future.
TEL.A.VISION has proven to be successful with all students, but especially those at risk and those receiving special educations services. The program engages students in a meaningful way, allows their voices to be heard, has improved AYP and helps to decrease the dropout rate.
“We have seen what TEL.A.VISION has done for students in Minnesota. We know firsthand that this partnership holds great potential for the districts that we serve,” said Marla Davenport, Co-Director of Learning and Technology. “The TIES and TEL.A.VISION missions speak to increasing the availability of technology and improving learning outcomes for students. Together we can leverage our strengths to further these outcomes.”
“TIES is a leader in providing cutting edge technology and software solutions to schools in Minnesota. Both organizations know that if there ever was a time in history where we quickly need to plant and cultivate seeds of hope, imagination and vision, the time is now,” stated George Johnson of TEL.A.VISION. “We know that TIES is the right partner for us to reach more students that crave the opportunity to build connections to their communities and engage in academics.”
About TIES
TIES was created as Technology Information Education Services in 1967 to provide technology and information resources to school administrators, educators and students. It is now known solely by the acronym TIES. For more information go to: www.ties.k12.mn.us
Summer Update From TEL.A.VISION
Posted on 26. Sep, 2009 by Ringmaster in All Posts, How to Help!, Supporters
Dear Friends,
This past three weeks, with the start of school, we had a record number of new accounts and over a 1000 new TEL.A.VISION videos created. We have had a very busy summer preparing for the new school year. We will shortly be introducing new school pricing that will allow schools to buy TEL.A.VISION for a classroom, school or district without using a credit card.
We have realized one of the best uses for TEL.A.VISION is in Special Education. We are just finishing a new Special Education Curriculum, written by Special Education teachers from McHenry County, Illinois under the direction of Dr. Christy Chambers. The curriculum will show Special Education teachers many ways to use TEL.A. VISION in the classroom including using it as part of a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP). We have been accepted to speak at next years Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) conference.
We are just finishing an agreement with Best Buy for a contest on their @15 web site, www.at15.com. The contest will start in January and build on their research on empowering youth. There will be winners for an individual video and classroom project. The winners will show their work at the ISTE/NECC Conference in Denver in June 2010.
We have been accepted to give a presentation at the TIES Conference and will be working with TIES to offer special pricing to their member schools.
We have received a donation that will allow us to take TEL.A.VISION to the 155 students at the Dunwoody Academy in Minneapolis. We had planned to introduce TEL.A.VISION into all Minneapolis Schools this fall but because of budget cuts are now looking for donations to help make this happen.
We are in the process hiring a telemarketer to call on School Principals and Special Education staff. The position would be working from home and include salary and bonus. If you know of anyone with sales experience that you think might be interested please have them contact me, george@telavision.tv.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.
Big News From TEL.A.VISION
Posted on 05. Jun, 2009 by Ringmaster in All Posts, Media, Social Media and Vision, Supporters, TEL.A.VISION Stories, Web 2.0
5th Graders at Clear Springs Elementary on Parents Night
The BIG news is that TEL.A.VISION is becoming a non profit. Actually, it has always been a not for profit but we are just making it official. This will allow us to seek funds from foundations and individuals. I know that we will probably be rejected 10 times before we find someone willing to help fund us so if you know any organization or individual willing to be one of the first to talk to us let us know.
It’s hard to believe we launched only 8 months ago. In that time our partner Haberman has done a great job of getting us in all of the local press as well as the Christian Science Monitor. We had a successful TEL.A.VISION Day with a 24 hour broadcast of TEL.A.VISION videos on the Internet ( Thank you Steve). In May we did our first NYC press tour and from that will be covered in a 4 page spread in District Administration (Thank you Sue), a feature in Family Circle and have been told we will be in Scholastic and Time For Kids.
We have some exciting partnerships we are working on.
- Having 6th, 9th and 12th graders in the Minneapolis Schools create vision videos as part of graduation requirements,
- Working with TIES Education,
- Partnering with Youth Services of America to create Service Learning videos,
- Working with The Discipline of Peace and Culture of Peace Initiative to create Peace videos,
- Discussions with SEARCH Institute and Templeton Press on creating a Vision Curriculum with Dr. Benson’s New book “Vision“
- An invitation to visit the staff of the Fetzer Institute.
While all of this holds great potential the most rewarding work has been to see the difference TEL.A.VISION is having on youth. Three projects stand out.
- Working with the Divas of North Minneapolis. The Star Tribune did a nice article on them.
- Spending a day at Angelo Patri Middle School in the Bronx with 18 young people creating a new vision for their school ( The video is below). Their Vide Principal cried when she say it.
- Parent night at a Clear Springs Elementary in Minnetonka, where 75 people showed up to view amazing videos created by 5th graders .
We’ve started a new contest called “100 words for $100“. Tell us how you have used TEL.A.VISION and win a chance for $100.
Thank you all for your support of TEL.A.VISION. If you would like to receive regular updates on TEL.A.VISION sign up in the upper right hand corner.
TIES and TEL.A.VISION Day
Posted on 12. Jan, 2009 by Sue Hanson in All Posts, Supporters
Last Thursday we had one of our best meetings yet with TIES, an Minnesota education technology collaborative that offers cutting-edge school administration software, hardware and software, Internet services and professional development designed by educators for education. Begun as Technology Information Education Services in 1967, TIES is a joint powers cooperative owned by 38 Minnesota school districts which represent about 400 schools. One-third of Minnesota’s student population — about 250,000 students — is in TIES member districts.
TIES is all about how technology can optimize student learning within our schools. They understand how TEL.A.VISION is a great way for Minnesota students to understand the value of web 2.0 by using something tangible like TEL.A.VISION .
TIES is interested in becoming our partner for TEL.A.VISION Day on March, 20, 2009. We discussed how we would love to connect our Minnesota launch with our Nashville launch while we are at the National Youth Leadership conference on the same day.
Minnesota has always been a front runner in education and the group at TIES proves that we remain so with technology in education in Minnesota.
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